Yinson issues ‘largest-ever’ FPSO project bond to refinance Brazilian unit

July 1, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

Malaysia’s Yinson Production, a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based energy infrastructure and technology company Yinson, has placed a bond for a floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit working at an oil field in the pre-salt Campos Basin offshore Brazil.

FPSO Maria Quitéria; Source: Yinson Production

The $1.168 billion bond will be used, among other things, to refinance the FPSO Maria Quitéria, which is working with Petrobras in the Jubarte field, offshore Brazil, under a 22.5-year lease and operate contract. The FPSO has been producing since October 2024.

As disclosed when the bond issue was announced at the end of last month, the 144A/Reg S senior secured notes will be issued by Yinson Bergenia Production, which owns the FPSO vessel. The notes are expected to settle on July 7, 2025.

Markus Wenker, Yinson Production’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said: “The successful placement of this project bond marks another key milestone in our journey in the international capital markets and sets a new benchmark in the industry – being the largest and longest-dated FPSO project bond ever issued.

“The exceptionally high demand is a strong endorsement of our platform, our strategy, and the strength of the underlying project and reflects the investor community’s growing appetite for this asset class.”

In addition to refinancing the existing outstanding debt related to FPSO Maria Quitéria, the proceeds will be used to fund reserve accounts as required under the new bond issue, cover transaction-related fees and expenses, and for distributions to Yinson Production as the shareholder of the issuer.

The 156-meter-tall and 333-meter-long FPSO Maria Quitéria is installed at a water depth of 1,385 meters. Boasting a capacity to produce 100,000 barrels of oil a day and process up to 5 million cubic meters of gas, the unit will be interconnected to eight producing wells and just as many injectors.

According to Petrobras, the unit can generate 100 MW of energy, which can supply power for a city of 230,000 inhabitants.

The 2001-discovered Jubarte field, where the FPSO is installed, forms part of the Parque das Baleias integrated project comprising Baleia Anã, Cachalote, Caxaréu, Pirambú, and Mangangá fields.